How many carry a 44 or similar when you are rifle hunting?

[ScottB338]

My carry rig is a Freedom Arms 454, 6" barrel in a Double D chest rig. Stoked with 300gr WFNGC over a healthy dose of H110 for just over 1500fps.

 

[Don A Parsons]

No hand gun for me... its not allowed up here above the 49th...

Rifle,,, bear spray,,, burning spray of carberator cleaner or sling shot...

Welcome to the North...

The only exception to this rule of if your on your trap line,,, no trap line no pistol...

Cheers from the North

Don

 

[FEENIX]

On a regular hike in bear country, I carry .44 Mag and bear spray with my Karelian Bear Dog.

 

[JMW67]

Talking about areas where bears, cougars, etc can be found. Or do you just carry pepper spray, where aim doesn't have to be dead on. Moving to Montana in a month or so and curious to what people carry and what your reasoning is...whatever i decide to do I want it to be an informed decision somthe reasoning is important to me.

I have yet to hunt in bear country my thoughts on a backup pistol are similar to my thoughts on a personal defense pistol I would rather have a double action 6 shot revolver than an automatic due to the fact I do not believe I could clear a jam fast enough if it were to happen with a dangerous animal of any sort bering down on me with the double action its just pull the trigger again no thinking involved I am not discounting the autos as I own and shoot a few this is just my opinion and you know what they say about opinions

 

[Ranchdog]

What ever way you are persuaded, make sure your decision is based purely on what you feel most likely to succeed with in such a given circumstance. I personally carry my 10mms don't have another caliber, though more expensive than other handgun rounds, I like having something I am confident in that is still lethal given a situation as you may find out in the Bob Marshall.

 

[Litehiker]

Yeah a .44 magnum is loud. Will you notice that during a bear charge? Nope.
Yeah, a .44 magnum revolvers heavy, even with a 4" barrel. With a VERY high pucker factor will you notice? Nope?
And yeah, even a ported .44 magnum kicks and makes it harder to get a new sight picture

But better three 300 grain rounds at a high velocity than 5 or 6 slower 300 grainers from a 10 mm that may just tend to **** off a boar grizzly.

Eric B.

 

[Arcticman141]

S&W 329PD .44 Mag w/ kenai chest holster... you wont be sorry!
Been hunting Alaska my whole life, used to carry a Ruger Super Red Hawk 454 casull, fricken heavy!
Is it neccessary to carry a sidearm in the woods? The answer to that would become pretty clear in the event that you need one! Personally, I've never drawn mine in self protection while hunting, but I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it!

 

[Nuclear Worker]

I found in most places out west the wind always blows so I don't use pepper spray. It could be a bad thing if your on the downwind side if you have to deploy the spray.

With that said, in Grizz country I carry a 10 MM Glock when hunting. You never know when they will come in to your space such as; when dressing out game and that rifle of yours is propped up 15 feet from you against a tree. That sidearm maybe quicker to reach and eliminate the threat provided you can 'hit' with it. Also, carrying a firearm is sort of...cool.

What kind of holster do you use? Was looking at a thigh rig so it would always be there. Don't like a chest rig to much stuff in the way. Regular holster would be in the way of pack belt. Put it on the pack belt and when you take it off no longer have instant access

 

[Rick Richard]

What kind of holster do you use? Was looking at a thigh rig so it would always be there. Don't like a chest rig to much stuff in the way. Regular holster would be in the way of pack belt. Put it on the pack belt and when you take it off no longer have instant access

I use a cheap nylon type holster I purchased from a sporting goods store. I attached it to my belt in a croossdraw fashion. Works for me.

 

[UplandFreak]

But better three 300 grain rounds at a high velocity than 5 or 6 slower 300 grainers from a 10 mm that may just **** off a boar grizzly

That contradicts about everything I have read recently. A lot of alaskan natives are switching to a glock 20 because of the capacity. They are claiming 15 rounds is better than 5 or six and a 220 gr hardcast from a 10mm still has plenty of penetration to make it to the vitals or penetrate the skull into the brain. Really the latter is what is going to stop the bear. So would you rather have 15 tries at hitting a small moving target like a brain or 5?

Penetration into the brain is penetration into the brain - doesnt matter if it is with a 180gr projectile or a 300gr projectile. I would rather have 15 shots while be able to acquire my site picture faster for follow-up shots.

 

[Josebigsky]

I carry 6 grenades a flame thrower and a bible. If the first two don't work I get on my knees and pray.

I live in MT and have bow hunted in Griz country for 25 years. I have had 1 close call. it was early 4:30am hiking into the backcountry with no lights. Bear came at us in the semi dark and veered off at 20 yards. We got lucky. I had a pistol and spray. I had no time to get either one.

So carry what makes you comfortable. Sometimes I carry a pistol sometimes spray sometimes both. If I am hiking in and sleeping out I always take a pistol.

Good luck.

 

[sea2summit]

That contradicts about everything I have read recently. A lot of alaskan natives are switching to a glock 20 because of the capacity. They are claiming 15 rounds is better than 5 or six and a 220 gr hardcast from a 10mm still has plenty of penetration to make it to the vitals or penetrate the skull into the brain. Really the latter is what is going to stop the bear. So would you rather have 15 tries at hitting a small moving target like a brain or 5?

Penetration into the brain is penetration into the brain - doesnt matter if it is with a 180gr projectile or a 300gr projectile. I would rather have 15 shots while be able to acquire my site picture faster for follow-up shots.

Well if your unwilling to train and you only shoot your G19 once a year than yeah a G20 makes more sense than a revolver I guess. If your telling me that a 10mm with like 750 foot pounds of energy at best is better than a .44/.45 LC/.454 with almoat twice that you're not thinking about what you're saying. As an added benefit the .44 class has much better sectional density so the chances of the bullet going where you want it to after it hits 3" of hair, skin, and fat is much better.

At the end of the day, how many shots are you going to have time for regardless of the platform? Give yourself a 3-5 second timer, put a target at 7 m and see how many times you can hit it with a double action revolver in a real caliber and a G20. Remember you need about twice the number of hits with a 10mm to match the energy delivered by a .44. Good luck and let us know.

 

[UplandFreak]

Well if your unwilling to train and you only shoot your G19 once a year than yeah a G20 makes more sense than a revolver I guess. If your telling me that a 10mm with like 750 foot pounds of energy at best is better than a .44/.45 LC/.454 with twice that your not thinking about what you're saying. As an added benefit the .44 class has much better sectional density so the chances of the bullet going where you want it to after it hits 3" of hair, skin, and fat is much better.

At the end of the day, how many shots are you going to have time for regardless of the platform? Give yourself a 3-5 second timer, put a target at 7 m and see how many times you can hit it with a double action revolver in a real caliber and a G20. Remember you need about twice the number of hits with a 10mm to match the energy delivered by a .44. Good luck and let us know.

You are missing the point. Its not all about energy. At some point you need enough to penetrate the skull and reach the brains, but once you have that much, Its about accuracy and penetration, through the skull into the brain. Also, You aren't accounting for a situation where you shoot several times and this ends up on the ground. This dude should have been shooting better bullets, but it still illustrates my point:

10mm GLOCK Stops Horrible Grizzly Bear Attack In New Mexico – Concealed Nation

On morning of July 25, 2018, Bridger Petrini was working out his dogs for the upcoming bear season in New Mexico near the Colorado border. Petrini purchased his professional guide service eight years ago from his father, who started it in 1985. Bear season would open in less than three weeks...

concealednation.org

 

[UplandFreak]

There are several stories like these - its all about penetration and accuracy:

An Official Journal Of The NRA | Alaska Outfitter Defends Fishermen from Raging Grizzly with 9mm Pistol

Two weeks ago, veteran outfitter Phil Shoemaker was guiding two fishing clients in the Alaska bush when the party came face to face with an enraged grizzly. Shoemaker, armed only with a 9mm semi-auto pistol, defended his clients and himself. Here’s his account …

www.americanhunter.org

Buffalo Bore or Underwood hard cast or xtreme pentrator. 9mm - 10mm will get it done. I can keep posting these.